Background: Cholestasis occurs when the secretion of bile flow into the small intestine is impaired. Without appropriate treatment, cholestasis could induce harmful injuries to different organs. Moreover, this disorder could alter the expression level of apoptotic-related genes. Herein, the effect of cholestasis on the expression level of both anti- and pro-apoptotic genes, Bcl-xl and Bad, in the striatum area of rats were investigated. In addition, we aimed to examine whether curcumin could change the mRNA expression level of aforementioned genes in striatum area of rats.Materials and methods: In this experimental study, sixteen male Wistar rats were divided into 4 groups, consisting control, sham-curcumin, BDL and BDL-curcumin groups. Rats in BDL group experienced bile duct obstruction surgery; however, in BDL-curcumin group, rats underwent surgery plus curcumin treatment. Sham-curcumin group were only treated with drug. The control group did not have either surgery or drug treatment. The striatum area of the brain was isolated and after RNA extraction and cDNA synthesis, the expression level of genes were investigated.Results: The ratio of pro-apoptotic to anti-apoptotic genes (Bad/Bcl-xl) in the BDL group significantly changed, compared to other groups (p<0.05). But, in both BDL-curcumin and sham-curcumin groups, the expression level of neither pro- nor anti-apoptotic genes altered in the striatum area of the brain.Conclusion: Curcumin decreased the relative expression level of death promoter to death repressor genes and reduced the BDL-induced apoptosis. Hence, curcumin can be used to reduce the harmful effect of cholestasis.